Writing club offers creative literary outlet

By Harrison Roux, Staff WriterEvery Friday at 3 p.m., Armstrong students gather in Gamble106 to work on their writing. Unlike the dreaded class assignment paper, their writing is for enjoyment. Since its formation last fall, the Armstrong Writers’ Collective has been meeting each week to share their love of writing, literature and to work on improving their abilities.

“[The Collective] provides a way that writers in the Armstrong community can meet every week to support each other in their writing endeavors,” said club president, Jackie Zantow.

While the group typically leans towards fiction writing, Zantow notes that, “Any and all types of writing are more than welcome.” Zantow also explained that the Writer’s club does not require members to be “hardcore English majors” to enjoy its benefits. “It’s open to any discipline and everybody can have fun with it.”

The club meetings last about an hour. During that time, members engage in focused free-writing exercises where they can either follow a given prompt or write something of their own in a comfortable and supportive environment. The remaining time is spent reading and discussing each others’ creative works.

Luka, who has been a member for over a year, said “It gives you a chance to get your writing out there and hear what other people have to say about it—which you need as a writer. You need people to test your work. That gives you a chance to grow and to improve on what you can already do,” said

Armstrong Writers’ Collective will have a booth at Celebrate Armstrong, October 22. The club will hold a raffle for prizes and a game that has participants’ guess whether a quote is from modern pop music or classic literature. Zantow explained that the goal is to show people that content involved even in classic literature is not far from what artists are producing today.

The Armstrong Writers’ Collective is every Friday at 3 p.m in Gamble 106 for anyone wishing to have fun and explore the potential of their own creative writing.